ARX is built on the 68-year foundation and experience of KOVINOPLASTIKA LOŽ, drawing inspiration for developing a range of products and innovative Smart Home solutions. ARX hardware is a leading supplier of high-quality window and door hardware in Europe, with products that meet the most stringent design, comfort, security, and energy efficiency standards.
ARX is defined by reliability, expertise, experience, and innovation and embodies reliability through certified quality, a lifetime warranty, business excellence, and social and environmental responsibility. Aside from the qualities mentioned above, the ARX window and door hardware have an excellent quality-to-price ratio, allowing customers to win market positions quickly and effectively.
And last but not least, all the products are designed to serve a variety of purposes or projects, including building renovations, but most importantly to provide end users with comfort, security, and energy efficiency.
Interview with Petar Orbanič, Managing Director at ARX.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Petar Orbanič: As one of the industry leaders in building hardware, we understand the importance of continuous innovation, which is founded on a half-century of experience and in-depth knowledge of industry trends. We are committed all the time to ensuring that our portfolio is properly certified. All of our Management System certificates and certificates of Comformity present dedication to verifiable quality standards for processes and products. We are focused on developing and applying best solutions in the field, including Smart Home Solutions with intelligent data encryption, while guaranteeing a flexible and efficient production process. Such approaches, in combination with the established knowledge, enable our experts to design and execute the most appropriate solutions tailored to customers’ demands what differentiates us from the competition.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
P.O: Our focus goes in the direction of smart solutions for smart homes and buildings. With this intention in mind, we established new sub-brand iRX Smart Home with a range of products suitable for smart applications which are synonyms for intelligence and innovation. Under iRX umbrella we develop solutions for higher level of security to simplify life with smart lock systems. Energy consumption is one of the main topics currently as well. Windows and doors need to have high insulation properties, easy and simple operation, and high security levels. Our windows and door hardware follows the mentioned way, providing solutions which support the demands mentioned. ARX strives to be a step ahead in functionalities and corrosion protection and quality as well, that is why we are first on the field offering a Lifetime Warranty for our products.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
P.O: Through the years we were never the silent observers of migration from old window and door hardware solutions to the nowadays highly technological ones, tailored for smart homes and buildings. With modern design and innovative technologies that have the end user in mind, we advocate the change on a very technical field with the portfolio for Window hardware which includes Turn and tilt, Tilt first and Casment range. In door hardware portfolio we offer variety of door lock from Handle, Comfort, Automatic to Cylinder operated versions. In today’s time market increasingly demands integrated solutions so we extended our portfolio to accessories range with handles, hinges and cylinders as well. And finally let’s not forget ARX SLIDE, sliding door mechanisms program and solutions for home and industrial applications which are easy to install and tested to ensure the security and luxurious experience and never the less as already mentioned iRX Smart home solutions portfolio for simple and convenient living.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
P.O: Even though the market has been fairly shaken in the last years, we have managed to maintain a good market position. After a successful ARX Hardware exhibition at the Fensterbau Frontale fair, we can indubitably say that we are only intensifying our presence on European markets, striving to cover the whole European market area. Furthermore, our ambitions and goals are focused to expand business operations on USA, India and Gulf countries markets and gain recognition as one of the leading manufacturer and provider of building hardware.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
P.O: Novelties, innovations and smart home solutions play a big role in our daily business and are related with additional value for end users, providing supplemental functionality beside products core functionalities. We spoke about smart home solutions already therefore we would like to mention another trend which goes into direction of greater emphasis on sustainable materials, high-quality materials that can withstand weather influences, energy efficiency, as well as the variety of constructions, which must take into account adapted materials in construction industry according to climatic influences. That is why our laboratories are equipped with modern devices and tools where endurance tests are taken for durability, strength and function of the products according to demanding standards. We went even further and test the suitability of building hardware to various weather conditions with load tests of natural phenomena in special chamber, where smoke, wind and rain are created, all with the aim of ensuring and producing top quality and suitability of our portfolio.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
P.O: With our latest novelty Automatic Self-Adjusting Security System for doors, we were dealing with safety, comfort and energy saving – all at once, focusing on the entrance door. Our product which is a complete novelty on the market is providing automatic adjustment of gasket pressure on the entrance door. Our system is providing a constant gasket pressure and therefore constant sealing of the element. We all, as end users of entrance doors, are facing a constant challenge of bending of material mostly due to weather conditions. Therefore, our doors are not sealing as expected. ARX development team provided a perfect solution for situations mentioned with self adjustment strikers in our program comfort. The innovation was recently recognized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia as one of major 2022 innovation in Slovenia as well.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?
P.O: Given the current market situation, we are ready for the challenges ahead. Customers have shown that they have successfully operated, but it is important that we manage to meet the demands of customers who are ready to pay more for their products as well. To ease the expected energy crisis, we see many opportunities in the field of renovations, where old building hardware has to be replaced. But it is also important for us, to win new markets outside of Europe, where the construction industry is on the rise, winters are milder and therefore the demand for building hardware products is spread over the whole year.